Generally, a refrigerator serves to freshly store food items such as meat, fish, vegetable, and beverage. The refrigerator includes a refrigerator case provided with a freezing chamber, a refrigerating chamber, a vegetable chamber, etc., doors disposed at one side of the refrigerator case for opening and closing the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber.
The refrigerator case includes a refrigeration cycle apparatus composed of a compressor, a condenser, a capillary tube, an evaporator, etc., a blowing fan for forcibly flowing cool air formed by the evaporator, a circulation path for guiding cool air formed by the evaporator to be introduced into the evaporator via the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber, etc.
Once the freezing chamber or the refrigerating chamber has a temperature more than a preset temperature, the refrigeration cycle apparatus is operated, and thus the evaporator forms cool air. The cool air formed by the evaporator circulates the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber as the blowing fan is operated.
As the cool air circulates via the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber, preset temperatures of the freezing chamber, the refrigerating chamber, the vegetable chamber, etc. may be maintained.
The refrigerator may be classified into various types according to a cool air circulation method, positions of the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber, a configuration of the evaporator, etc.
The refrigerator is provided with various functions so as to meet a user's demands, and to enhance a user's convenience.
The refrigerator is equipped with an ice making system for making ice pieces. The ice making system includes an ice maker for making ice pieces, and an ice bank disposed below the ice maker for storing ice pieces made by the ice maker.
The ice pieces made by the ice maker are stored in the ice bank, and a user uses the ice pieces stored in the ice bank by drawing out the ice bank, or through a dispenser of the refrigerator.
The dispenser is provided at the door of the refrigerator. And, the dispenser includes a drawing space disposed at one side of a front surface of the door, a drawing opening disposed at an inner upper side of the drawing space for drawing out the ice pieces, drawing buttons disposed on a rear wall surface of the drawing space, and a supporting plate disposed at a bottom surface of the drawing space. A button assembly for setting a mode is provided at an upper side of the drawing space.
A desired mode of the dispenser is set as a user presses a button of the button assembly. When the user presses the button in a state that a vessel such as a cup is disposed below the button assembly, ice pieces are drawn out through the drawing opening.
However, the conventional dispenser has the following problems.
Since ice pieces are processed in the drawing space, humid air may be introduced between the buttons of the button assembly above the drawing space, and inner circumferential surfaces of the buttons. This may cause the button assembly to have corroded components, or to have a shortened lifespan.